Critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Erin Lee Carr, joins Jenks live at SXSW Festival to discuss the premier of her new HBO film, "I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter", documentaries going mainstream, particularly in the true crime genre, and what really happens when making a documentary film. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/a...
Mar 13, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Jenks will sit down with a wide range of notable personalities to discuss “what really happened” during a specific, significant time in their lives. Jenks will kick off the series on March 13 with a special interview with filmmaker Erin Lee Carr conducted at SXSW. Additional guests throughout the rest of the season include: retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton, cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky, who gave the most popular TedTalk of 2018, ...
Mar 12, 2019•2 min
Jenks ponders the future of Netflix, and considers the possibility for interactive podcasts. He takes calls from a few listeners, and also gets corrected on what he missed during Season 2. And, he gets a surprise voicemail from a special someone who promises she has the answer to Jenks’ first ever What Really Happened?. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adc...
Mar 06, 2019•32 min
The world is a complicated place. Stories can help us simplify things. But, how a story is told, and who tells the story to us, has a huge impact on our understanding of what really happened. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 27, 2019•34 min
"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." - James Baldwin ... This episode examines the impact parents had on the lives of children who went on to become world leaders and cultural phenoms. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 20, 2019•40 min
Jenks identified that many of the leaders he chronicled in Season 2 understood the power of keeping information hidden, or remaining outright silent, in a variety of situations. This first Reaction Episode focuses on silence as a major theme of WRH? Season 2. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 13, 2019•27 min
Jenks explores Kanye West’s search for identity, his rebelliousness, and ultimately, his desire for artistic freedom, through the lens of his childhood. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 23, 2019•48 min
There have been films and TV shows about the brave and heroic SEAL TEAM 6, and other Marines, that killed Osama Bin Laden and changed history. There is a famous photo that captured President Obama and his team watching the raid from the Situation Room. Secretaries Clinton and Gates, Vice President Biden, and President Obama have all talked in detail about the moments captured in that photo. Now, this episode offers a chance to hear from those in the photo we don’t instantly recognize, and those ...
Jan 16, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Jenks saw Angela Merkel on TV at George H. W. Bush's funeral. Then, he remembered that Donald Trump wouldn't shake her hand when the two first met. What could be learned from Merkel’s relationships with Presidents Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama? As it turned out, a specific, largely unknown meeting Merkel had in the Oval Office, before she became the leader of Germany, held the answer to what really happened. Guests: Dr. Jonathan Olsen (Department Chair and Professor of Government at Texas Woman’s ...
Jan 09, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Kendall Jenner is one of the most famous people on Earth. And so, it made sense for the global brand Pepsi to feature her in a commercial in 2017. But, the commercial faced a major backlash for co-opting the imagery of social-political movements. Who decided this was a good idea? This is the anatomy of a commercial gone terribly wrong. What Really Happened? Guests: Brad Jakeman (former President of PepsiCo Global Beverage Group), DeRay Mckesson (activist, author, and host of the "Pod Save The Pe...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 40 min
Meek Mill, one of the hottest rappers in the world, violated parole too many times. But when the judge at his hearing began giving him tips on his music and lifestyle, people started to question who was in the wrong. It all got more bizarre after she sentenced Meek to two-to-four years in prison. Until recently, he resided in solitary confinement. And then, in a bizarre twist, the FBI asked Meek for help investigating the judge. What Really Happened? Guests: Jason Flom (The Innocence Project), I...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 38 min
You wouldn’t think one of the best basketball players in the world, worth well over $100 million, spends his summers in a two-bedroom apartment in San Diego, but that’s what Kawhi Leonard does. In San Antonio he opted to live with his mom, and they played Jenga at night over enchiladas. His disinterest in the spotlight, and focus on the game, made him a perfect fit for the militant, and world-champion, San Antonio Spurs, led by their revered coach Gregg Popovich. Just like the Spurs’ prior stars...
Dec 05, 2018•1 hr
Would Apple exist without if Steve Jobs had never taken acid? Jobs said repeatedly that taking LSD was one of the "two or three most important things" he ever did in his life. But was this a tale to galvanize press, or a genuine belief. What Really Happened? Guests: Daniel Kottke (college friend of Steve Jobs), Trip Hawkins (entrepreneur, founder of Electronic Arts), Maia Szalavitz (reporter and author), Dr. John Amodeo (author), and Andrew Stanton (filmmaker). To learn more about listener data ...
Nov 28, 2018•56 min
In 1876, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, also known as Brave Woman, miraculously saved her brother from death against the Americans trying to take over their land, and soon afterwards she became a war leader for her tribe. Only 15 years ago, Northern Cheyenne storytellers broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle, and they credited Buffalo Calf Road Woman with striking the blow that resulted in the death of none other, than a Civil War hero, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. A sto...
Nov 14, 2018•59 min
A 6-year-old boy was stuck in a hot air balloon that happened to look like a flying saucer, 7,000 feet above ground, flying over Colorado. Cable news channels had a field day. And, when the balloon landed, something didn't add up. Ultimately in this episode, a professor predicts what won't happen in years to come, an Academy-Award nominated filmmaker unravels where he's going, and a storytelling guru helps make sense of "breaking news" as Jenks sorts out... what really happened? Guests: Matt Hei...
Nov 07, 2018•58 min
President Bill Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin were ready to change the world. Their epic press conferences and newly released phone transcripts reveal a sincere friendship. But, as time went on, things got complicated, and led to Vladimir Putin. Guests: Adele Lindenmeyr (Professor of History and Dean of Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), and Evelyn Farkas (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia) To learn more about listener data and ...
Oct 31, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Famous musicians Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse all died at 27 years old. Some call this phenomenon "a media construct". Research shows that of the 3,463 musicians who died in the last two hundred years, there is a 40% spike at the age of 27, compared to the years surrounding it. But, recent studies on the brain help put this data into context. What really happened? Guests: Charles R. Cross (New York Times Best-Selling author of "Heavier Tha...
Oct 24, 2018•43 min
The most famous comedian in the world had just signed a $50 million contract, and had started filming the third season of his critically acclaimed show, Chappelle's Show. Then, he had a “meltdown” and “escaped” to South Africa. Now, more than ten years later, Jenks revisits what really happened, and finds Dave at a town hall meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices...
Oct 17, 2018•46 min
King John II of France is missing from the pages of history. There are no movies, no books, hardly a Wikipedia page. But, after Jenks dug in to the mystery of this seemingly forgotten king, a whole medieval world came to life. As it turns out, John II, perhaps better known as John the Good, sailed to England to turn himself in as a prisoner of war, abandoning his stunned French subjects to fend for themselves through the Dark Ages. Is he the worst king in history? Or, has he been unfairly lost t...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr 15 min
John Carter is one of history's biggest box office flops: $250 million... gone. But, it was directed by two-time Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton, had Disney’s marketing prowess, and was based on the book that inspired Star Wars and Avatar. What Really Happened? This episode is the anatomy of a blockbuster gone bust, a possibility even when the person in charge is brilliant. Guests: Andrew Stanton (filmmaker), Michael Sellers (author, filmmaker, former CIA officer), Germain Lussier (film crit...
Oct 03, 2018•1 hr 31 min
In the last couple of years, American embassy officials in Cuba have been injured by "sonic attacks". Jenks has followed all the leads, being convinced at one point that acoustic weapons don’t even exist, and then that they do exist, and the Russians, and then the Cubans, and then, believe it or not, the Americans were responsible. At other points, he thought it was rogue factions within different countries, only to later think maybe it was environmental factors, or mass hysteria, or a wide-rang...
Sep 26, 2018•1 hr 50 min
What really happened in 2001 when Venus Williams forfeited a semi-final match against her best friend and sister, Serena Williams? Headlines charged her father, Richard Williams, with orchestrating which sister would win. Guests: James Blake, Selena Roberts, Ben Rothenberg To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 19, 2018•1 hr 26 min
What Really Happened? returns on September 19th with new episodes including the backstrokes of Serena Williams, Dave Chappelle, Balloon Boy and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 19, 2018•45 sec
In 1993, Daniel Green was charged with the murder of James Jordan. Now 25 years later Andrew Jenks attempts to better understand the trial and investigation, visits Daniel Green in prison, and provides his take on what really happened. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 24, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Jenks reacts to a surprising pattern he uncovered after recording Season 1. And, as a result, he speaks with Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a world- renowned psychologist named to TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 14, 2018•1 hr 21 min
Jenks speaks with two groundbreaking biographers that changed how the public perceived Princess Diana. New York Times best-selling author Andrew Morton (Diana; In Her Own Words) talks about secretly working with Princess Diana and publishing a book that essentially she wrote and Tina Brown (The Diana Chronicles) speaks about her own personal relationship with Diana and what the Princess would have accomplished should be alive today. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices vis...
Mar 07, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Jenks speaks with New York Times Best Selling author and biographer Paul Reid about the accuracy of "The Darkest Hour", inaccurate Churchill quotes tweeted by Congresspeople, and Churchill’s famous speech after Dunkirk. Jenks also speaks with a listener, Jhamie, who reached out on Twitter with her constructive criticism for Andrew about how he talked about mental health in the fifth WRH Season 1 episode, BLACK DOG, and their shared mental health experiences dealing with depression. To learn more...
Feb 28, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Jenks responds to listener feedback (1:05:30), interviews critically acclaimed actress Brittany Snow (36:24), and paparazzi Daniel Ramos (3:55), who was there taking pictures when Britney Spears infamously smashed in a windshield with an umbrella. Jenks also talks with lawyer and conservatorship expert Lee Kaster (1:39:19) to better understand if Britney has in fact lost her financial freedom. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-po...
Feb 07, 2018•1 hr 52 min
After listening to this episode, we'll know why Chris Christie joined ABC News as a political commentator, and why he apparently, now as a former Governor, got caught trying to cut the TSA line at Newark airport. In this reaction episode to The Lone Wolf, Jenks also talks about his phone call with David Widlstein, aka The Lone Wolf (5:46), about what Christie's future may look like (1:08:56), interviews Matt Katz author of the preeminent Christie biography (12:14), Washington Post fact checker a...
Jan 31, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Jenks recaps Season 1's overwhelming response and kicks off the 'Reaction Episodes', 6 episodes where he gets feedback from listeners and speaks with experts or people who had first hand accounts related to each topic. This episode includes Jenks' diagnosis of cable news, an Ali story from Golden Globe winner Dylan McDermott (18:25), interviews with NY Times Best Selling author Jonathan Eig (44:29) and Ali aficionado and author Dave Hannigan, listener reaction (24:18), and Jenks' updates on his...
Jan 24, 2018•57 min